Ace RAF fighter pilot. Served in the 85th Squadron. He was credited with shooting down four German aircraft in World War II. He also assisted with three more kills. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His Hawker Hurricane was shot down near Cambrai, France, on May 18, 1940. He was reported missing in action and later, presumed dead. His family did not learn where he was buried until 2012. While going through British Ministry of Defense files, historian Andy Saunders found a witness account of a Hurricane that was hit near the French town of Cambrai on the same day that Allen and his plane disappeared. After getting approval from Allen's family and French officials, Saunders conducted excavations and found small parts of the downed plane. That evidence convinced the RAF Historical Branch to look deeper into their files for Allen's old records, and eventually they confirmed that his body was buried in an unmarked grave in the village of Poix-de-Nord, near Cambrai. His youngest brother, Richard, 81, arranged a family trip to France to pay their respects. Derek was the son of Alfred E. and Sylvia S.M.H. Allen of Leicester, England.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit 85 Squadron
Command Fighter Cmnd (Ac,Bef)
Ship Hurricane I
Occupation Pilot
Casualty Killed in action
Medal Dfc
Residence Place Leicester
Burial Place Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
Notes Shot Down By A Bf110 During A Patrol Between Le Cateau and Cambrai
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit 85 Squadron
Command Fighter Cmnd (Ac,Bef)
Ship Hurricane I
Occupation Pilot
Casualty Killed in action
Medal Dfc
Residence Place Leicester
Burial Place Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
Notes Shot Down By A Bf110 During A Patrol Between Le Cateau and Cambrai
Ace RAF fighter pilot. Served in the 85th Squadron. He was credited with shooting down four German aircraft in World War II. He also assisted with three more kills. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His Hawker Hurricane was shot down near Cambrai, France, on May 18, 1940. He was reported missing in action and later, presumed dead. His family did not learn where he was buried until 2012. While going through British Ministry of Defense files, historian Andy Saunders found a witness account of a Hurricane that was hit near the French town of Cambrai on the same day that Allen and his plane disappeared. After getting approval from Allen's family and French officials, Saunders conducted excavations and found small parts of the downed plane. That evidence convinced the RAF Historical Branch to look deeper into their files for Allen's old records, and eventually they confirmed that his body was buried in an unmarked grave in the village of Poix-de-Nord, near Cambrai. His youngest brother, Richard, 81, arranged a family trip to France to pay their respects. Derek was the son of Alfred E. and Sylvia S.M.H. Allen of Leicester, England.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit 85 Squadron
Command Fighter Cmnd (Ac,Bef)
Ship Hurricane I
Occupation Pilot
Casualty Killed in action
Medal Dfc
Residence Place Leicester
Burial Place Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
Notes Shot Down By A Bf110 During A Patrol Between Le Cateau and Cambrai
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit 85 Squadron
Command Fighter Cmnd (Ac,Bef)
Ship Hurricane I
Occupation Pilot
Casualty Killed in action
Medal Dfc
Residence Place Leicester
Burial Place Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
Notes Shot Down By A Bf110 During A Patrol Between Le Cateau and Cambrai
Gravesite Details
Cenotaph: See 15244355
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